Pinarayi Vijayan thanks Nitin Gadkari for sanctioning 3,465.82 Cr for road building

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday thanked the Central Government for sanctioning the 6-Laning work from Kodungallur to Edapally with a budget of ₹3465.82 Cr under Bharatmala Pariyojana. The NH66 development between Edappally and Moothakunnam recently gained momentum and the stretch into a six-lane road will be developed by 2023. The project will help in making Kochi’s traffic movement smoother and more convenient for motorists. 

Pinarayi Vijayan thanks the Government of India for road construction project:

NHAI initiates project to widen Edappally-Kodungallur stretch

Back in July 2021, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has finally initiated the tendering process to widen the Edappally-Kodungallur stretch of NH66. The 26-kilometre-long stretch, replete with narrow lanes and turnings, has been the area of several accidents for over a decade. The project was put forward in 2005, however, it was delayed due to problems with land acquisition. The project's estimated cost is 1,501.47 crore. 

Bharatmala Pariyojana

According to the Government of India, Bharatmala Pariyojana is the umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions like the development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes, National Corridor Efficiency Improvement, Border and International connectivity roads, Coastal and Port connectivity roads and Green-field expressways. The project was launched by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The scheme was launched with an aim to focus to improve India's quality of roads, total road construction, Integrated schemes, Segmentation in phases, constriction on a daily basis, Multi-source of finding. The Central Government also aimed at hosting new roads for connecting the areas and maintaining a smooth flow of traffic. All key aspects of the scheme are managed by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry of the country.